Elastic closure fastener



y 1967 R. s. LATTA 3,316,600

ELASTIC CLOSURE FASTENER Filed Dec. 1, 1964 IN VENTOR.

Richard S. um

HI PATENT AGENT United States Patent 3,316,600 ELASTIC CLOSURE FASTENERRichard S. Latta, New Milford, Pa. (6 Congress St., Trumansburg, N.Y.14886) Filed Dec. 1, 1964, Ser. No. 415,031 14 Claims. (Cl. 24-73) Thisinvention relates generally to fastening devices and more particularlyto an elastic fastener for any pair of adjacent, relatively movableedges such as ski boot and shoe uppers, tent flaps, etc., which arenormally fastened by means of laces engaging lacing hooks positioned onsuch edges.

Devices of this general type are known in the art but none have beenfound suitable or practicable for use as replacements for lacingsbecause of an unsightly appearance, a difficulty in connecting thefasteners to or disconnecting them from the lacing hooks of the membersto be fastened, a short life in use due to susceptibility of the elasticmaterial to rapid weather deterioration and to undesirable and permanentstretching under continued tension, a lack of adjustability, and anexcessive cost.

The latter two reasons are of particular importance in the applicationof elastic fasteners as replacements for the lacings of ski bootswherein eight to twelve pairs of lacing hooks are spaced from the toearea upwardly at increasing lateral distances to the tops of the uppers.Heretofore, a fastener of suitable length to connect the lacing hooks ofthe intermediate boot area was too long for the toe area and too shortfor the uppermost area, so that costly sets of various lengths offasteners had to be purchased whether all were needed or desirable ornot.

Accordingly, the main object of the present invention is to provide animproved and attractive elastic closure fastener as a replacement forlaces and other lacing devices engaging lacing hooks which will obviatethe above and other unsuitable and impracticable features characterizingknown elastic fasteners.

An important object of the present invention is to provide an improvedelastic fastener for use with lacing hooks which is formed of materialwhich is unaffected by weather and which includes novelly incorporatedreinforcing means so as to eliminate permanent deformation whenmaintained in tension over extended periods, and prevent its stretchingbeyond its elastic limit.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide animproved and attractive elastic fastener of the type described which isreinforced at spaced points and wherein loops for connecting the elasticstrap or fastener to the lacing hooks are fixed to the strap at pointsof such reinforcement so as to enable the fastener to be applied to anypair of hooks regardless of their lateral spacing.

A further important object of the present invention is to provide anattractive elastic fastener of the type described which may be readilyconnected to spaced lacing hooks by stretching and quickly disconnectedtherefrom by the camming action of a pull tab or finger piece whicheffects adequate stretching for disconnection.

A still further important object of the present invention is to providean attractive, elastic fastener of the type described which includeslacing-hook connector loops, and an operating finger tab, all being soformed as to not only conform readily to the curvature of a ski boot,etc., but to also be usable for the connection of a pair of laterallyspaced lacing hooks in any area of the boot, regardless of theirspacing.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved andattractive elastic closure fastener of the type described which issimple and convenient to fasten or unfasten; is strong, rugged and oflong life in use; and which is susceptible of ready and economicmanufacture.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparentduring the course of the following descrip tion.

In the drawings I have shown two embodiments of the invention. In theseshowings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a plurality of the elastic fastenerscomprising the invention as applied to a ski boot to replace thenormally used, hook-connecting laces;

FIGURE 2 is an elevational view thereof to an enlarged scale taken onthe line 2-2 of FIGURE 1 and showing one of the fasteners connecting apair of spaced hooks;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view to a further enlarged scale of oneembodiment of the elastic fastener comprising the invention.

FIGURE 4 is a similar view showing the fastener with a different form oflacing-hook-connecting loop; and

FIGURE 5 is an elevational view to a further enlarged scale of thedifferent loop form and its detachable connecting pin.

While the invention has many and varied applications, for purpose ofready illustration it is herein disclosed as a fastener for pullingtogether and holding the upper portion of a boot, shoe, etc., in whichapplication it functions as a replacement or substitute for the regularlacing. As is well known, the front arear portions of a boot areprovided with a plurality of vertically spaced and aligned, horizontallyspaced pairs of hooks which facilitate the lacing of the boot byeliminating the eyes formerly used and through which the lacings had tobe tediously passed.

Referring to the drawings, numeral 10 designates as a whole the elasticclosure fastener comprising the present invention which is formed ofsubstantially weather impervious rubber, rubberlike, or otherelastomeric material and comprises an elongated strip 12 havingreinforcing areas 14 of greater thickness located at its ends and othersuch areas 16 at spaced points between the ends.

The strip 12 may be of any desired cross-sectional shape such as round,square, etc., and for purposes of illustration is shown in the drawingsas a flat band. Similarly, the spaced reinforcing areas may be of anydesired shape such as spherical, circular, etc., and for purposes ofillustration are shown in the form of ribs 14 extending transversely ofthe band or strip 12. Such structure ensures that the elastic extensionof the strip 12 is in a plurality of increments between the respectivestrengthening areas or ribs instead of over a wide span. This ensuresagainst exceeding the elastic limit of the strip, which is more likelyin an unreinforced strip in which a single defective area would absorbthe entire extension involved in fastening a closure and thus beextended beyond its elastic limit so as to be ineffective as a fasteneror to simply fail and permit rupture of the strip.

The elastic strip 12 and its reinforcing areas or ribs 14 may be readilyand economically molded of a selected elastomeric material, and in suchprocess, the reinforcing ribs are provided with axially extending bores16 into the ends of which the spaced ends 18 of lacing-hook encirclingand engaging D-rings 20 are inserted so as to be strongly connected tothe strip 12 and to comprise an important feature of the invention.

This combination of strongly secured D-Iin'gs or loops with the stripstrengthening areas enables the use of a single length fastener 10 forall of the pairs of lacing hooks of a ski boot, etc., in that a shorterlength portion of the strip 12 may be used in the toe or intermediateareas of a boot while the fastener 10 retains all its characteristics.The unused strip portion and its attached D-loops are of course, trimmedoff and the then intermediate loops 20 removed with pliers or a wirecutter, after a proper fastening has been obtained in any boot area byplacing the left end loop (FIGURES 2, 3, 4) over the boot lacing hookand another intermediate D-ring or loop over its mate while stretchingthe strip 12 to a minimum to effect the connection and provide adequatetension.

The left end loop or D-ring referred to is provided with a rigid fingertab 22 pivoted thereto which forms another important feature of theinvention. As illustrated in FIG- URES 2-4 and particularly in FIGURE 3,the finger tab is provided with a downwardly sloped portion 24 andterminates in an upwardly sloped portion 26 which latter facilitates theinsertion thereunder of a finger.

As is clearly illustrated in FIGURE 1 a plurality of fasteners 10 areshown holding the front of a boot closed with proper tension; and, asfurther shown in FIGURE 2, the fasteners nicely conform with the bootcurvature. Each fastener 10 is simply and easily disconnected from apair of the boot lacing hooks 28 and 29 by merely lifting its rigidfinger tab 22 which cams its sloping portion 24 against the lacing hook28 which automatically effects a stretching of the elastic fastener 10,and it is thus disengaged without necessity of a lateral pull on the tab22. After disconnection, each of the fasteners 10 for convenience may beretained on One of its proper boot lacing hooks 29 by merely bending thehook downwardly to the dotted line position 30.

The embodiment of the invention shown in FIGURE 4 and differs from thatdescribed above only in that the elastic fastener is provided with asingle D-ring 34 having a removable, headed pivot pin 36 with its otherend 38 split so as to also function as a retaining head while beingcompressible to enable the insertion of the pin through the eyes 39 ofthe D-ring 34 and through the bore 16 of one of the reinforcing areas orribs 14.

It will be apparent that, in use, the proper length of the elasticfastener 10 to be used to connect a pair of boot lacing hooks such as28, 29 is determined and the remainder of the strip to the right of theadjacent reinforcing area 14 is trimmed off. Theretaining pin 36, whichmay be formed of nylon or other strong material not adversely affectedby the weather, is removed from the D-ring eyes 39 which are alignedwith and placed adjacent the ends of the right-hand reinforcing areabore 16 and the pin is inserted all the way through by compressing thesplit end 38, which is then released to retain the pin in the positionshown in FIGURE 4.

It is to be understood that the forms of the invention herewith shownand described are to be taken as preferred examples of the same and thatvarious changes in the shape, size, and arrangement of parts may beresorted to without departure from the spirit of the invention or thescope of the subjoined claims.

I claim:

1. The combination with a closure having spaced lacin-g hooks to beconnected to each other; of a fastener operable as a lever against alacing hook when said one loop encircles it, to stretch said strip andrelease said tab connected loop from said hook.

5. The combination recited in claim 4 wherein said strip is a flat bandand said reinforcing areas comprise transversely extending ribs thereon.

6. The combination recited in claim 5 wherein the ends of said ribs areapertured to receive portions of said hook-encircling loops.

7. A fastener for closure having spaced hooks to be connected to eachother comprising, in combination, an elastic strip of elastornericmaterial having reinforcing areas of greater thickness at its ends andspaced therebetween, a first loop for encircling a hook connected to oneof said end reinforcing areas, a rigid finger tab pivoted to said firstloop and operable as a lever against the hook encircled by said firstloop to stretch said strip and release said tab connected first loopfrom said hook, and a second hook encircling loop detachably connectedto another of said reinforcing areas.

8. The combination recited in claim 7 wherein said strip is a fiat bandand said reinforcing areas comprise transversely extending ribs thereon.

9. The combination recited in claim 8 wherein the ends of said ribs areapertured to receive portions of said hookencircling loops.

10. The combination with a closure having a pair of spaced hooks adaptedto be connected to each other by a fastener; of a resilient strip havingspaced reinforcing areas of greater thickness and a loop for encirclingone of said hooks connected to each of said areas to enable any twothereof and said strip to connect said hooks under elastic tensionregardless of their spacing.

11. The combination with a closure having a pair of spaced hooks adaptedto be connected to each other by a fastener; of a resilient strip havingspaced reinforcing areas of greater thickness and a loop for encirclingone of said hooks connected to one of said reinforcing areas, and asecond loop detachably connectible with any other of said reinforcingareas and engageable with the other of said hooks to encircle it tocomplete the connection of said hooks.

12. The combination recited in claim 10 wherein said strip is a fiatband and said reinforcing areas comprise transversely extending ribsthereon.

13. The combination recited in claim 12 wherein the ends of said ribsare apertured to receive portions of said hook encircling loops.

14. The combination recited in claim 1 wherein one of said loopsincludes means for detachably connecting it to one of said reinforcedareas.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS comprising anelastic strip of elastomeric material having reinforcing areas ofgreater thickness at its ends and spaced 8O7150 12/1905 Bolce 24-226 Xtherebetween, and loops connected to said reinforced areas 1,184,6475/1916 Holloway 24201 for selectively encircling and connecting thelacing hooks. 1206225 11/1916 J y 24206 2. The combination recited inclaim 1 wherein said 1529310 3/1925 Pnce 24,201 X strip is a flat bandand said reinforcing areas comprise 2,617,413 11/1942 Belknap 24206 Xtransversely extending ribs thereon. FOREIGN PATENTS 3. The combinationrecited in claim 2 wherein the 836 603 V1938 France ends of the ribs areapertured to receive portions of said hook-encircling loops.

4. The combination recited in claim 1, and a rigid WILLIAM FELDMANPumary Exammer' finger tab pivoted to one of said end connected loopsand E. SIMONSEN, Assistant Examiner,

10. THE COMBINATION WITH A CLOSURE HAVING A PAIR OF SPACED HOOKS ADAPTEDTO BE CONNECTED TO EACH OTHER BY A FASTENER; OF A RESILIENT STRIP HAVINGSPACED REINFORCING AREAS OF GREATER THICKNESS AND A LOOP FOR ENCIRCLINGONE OF SAID HOOKS CONNECTED TO EACH OF SAID AREAS TO ENABLE ANY TWOTHEREOF AND SAID STRIP TO CONNECT SAID HOOKS UNDER ELASTIC TENSIONREGARDLESS OF THEIR SPACING.